


Beloved

by ismellitblue



Series: DEADEST DEAD [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Death, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Politics, Revenge, Team Taka feels, Whump, sasuke centric, team taka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-09-17 12:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16974711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: The members of Sasuke's team make their way to his little hideout(It turns out  a lot of shinobi need funeral services).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Naruto.Thank you for reading.

The first one to find him was Suigetsu, and he announced his presence in the silent way that all ninja do(that is, he tried to cleave Sasuke’s in  half, grinning madly when Sasuke dodged nimbly and ended up balancing on the hilt of the other  nin’s  huge blade).

“Heya Sasuke!,fancy seeing you here”Suigetsu’s grin grew sharper,as Sasuke leapt off the  sword.

“For a dead guy, you don’t look half bad”By that point the blade had been sheathed and Suigetsu had a glass of water in his hands, sipping the liquid noisily  through a straw. Unnoticed behind him,Kai was in wait,his head off the ground,his pitch black mouth wide open,Sasuke shared a look with the snake and Kai backed off closing his mouth as he settled back into the  shadows-no doubt the others would be joining him soon.

Sasuke,could be angry,he could attack Suigetsu-kill him on the spot and bury him(not only was he in very good shape-regular sleep and limitless safe training did that to you-he also knew no one would question a mortician-carting around a dead body-he  knew from experience,he’d done a surprising amount of killing since  coming to the little civilian town,and he’d  justwalkedthrough  town  with most of the corpses).

But instead of ending Suigetsu and making sure his whereabouts remained secret,he only glared. Squashing down the light hearted feeling that had settled in his chest and  fighting to keep his lips in the shape of a slight frown.But some of his happiness at seeing the other ninja must have leaked through because Suigetsu relaxed imperceptibly, the water he was drinking no longer swirling around.

“ _What_ do you want?”His voice at least had managed to remain as curt as ever.

“Oh you know the usual, passing through-killed people I wasn’t supposed to, have to lay low for a bit-same old-same old”Sasuke let out a  sigh at that, fighting back the urge to roll his eyes,of course Suigetsu had found a way to murder(probably by mutilation)people he had no business killing.

With another sigh,the Uchiha  turned and fished for his key, slipping it into the door, and feeling all the seals he had around his house pulse though him before fading and letting the key turn so that he could get in.

“Nice place”Suigetsu whistled,taking in the two walls stacked from floor to roof with books and scrolls , apart from the reading materials,which weren’t just confined to the walls,everything was pretty minimalistic-but Suigetsu,if the pained expression on his face was anything to go by, genuinely meant what he said.

His declaration of  course, was followed by him dropping his travel bag and  throwing himself on Sasuke’s  sofa, taking up all the room.

“I could get used to this…”No sooner had he  said that,he  was out cold, leaving Sasuke to glare at an unresponsive body, before giving up and  going to prepare supper-making enough for two.

***

Come morning, Sasuke made sure  to be  gone before Suigetsu woke up.

Letting himself into the funeral home he headed straight for the morgue.He gave a slight bow at the door, encompassing all the occupants hidden by the steel doors, and a shudder when through him when he was hit by blast of too cold air.The  unnatural chill lasted onlyfew seconds before it receded and  Sasuke  let out a  breath,the itch of the sharingan  trying to come up going away.

With the creepiness of the morning behind him,Sasuke headed to the door at the end and opened it.He didn’t even have to pull out the tray.The person within was right at the door.Sasuke found that even after a year, he never quite knew how to react to stillborns,on the one hand they died before they could ever truly experience life, but on the other _what was so great about living_?

Turning his attention to the baby, he got the little body into a tiny onesie, and pulled out a blanket he’d bought from the market before his encounter with Suigetsu,and wrapped the baby tightly with it,making sure that it pushed the little jaw up and cut off the silent scream.Adding some eye caps to sightless milky eyes he stood back and admired his handy work,nodding to himself when he found it satisfactory-the baby looked like he was just taking a little nap.

“So this is what you do”Suigetsu hadn’t snuck up on him, the snakes had told Sasuke when he’d been miles away, but Sasuke had expected him  to just lurk in the  shadows,so he was  a bit startled, but with years of practice,there’d been no outward signs and he hadn’t even been close to dropping the baby.

“Hn”He made his way past the other ninja,still carrying the baby.

“Are going to throw that in a ditch somewhere?”From anyone else,it would have been crass and mean(which were Suigetsu’s primary settings-that and being bloodthirsty), but there was a resigned note in his voice,like that was what he expected-what he’d seen done many times.So instead of just shrugging at him,Sasuke actually answered.

“You know that merchant Karo?”Suigetsu nodded.

“This is his grandson”

“But I thought his daughter wasn’t married, and that old man is a stickler for tradition”

Sasuke nodded

“That’s why they dumped the baby here,I was told to cut him to pieces and scatter him across the village”For a lot of money too-which Sasuke had gladly accepted, but he wasn’t going to do something even the old man hadn’t had the guts to do himself.

“Why’s he all dressed up then?”

“I’m taking him to his parents”Sasuke said,making his way out the door,he wasn’t all that shocked when Suigetsu joined him, both their footsteps making no sound.

***

The baby’s father was another merchant’s son and his name was Hibari.After only a few days of being in  Matsugo, he opened and closed the bars there,often being very loud and rude,getting on a lot of people’s nerves as he threw his money and power around .

“I’ll get him”Suigetsu said when Sasuke pointed him out.

A few  minutes later, a torn up and much more sober,Hibari was deposited at Sasuke’s feet.The civilian got up,trying to posture…

“Do you know who I am,I am-”The man caught sight of the bundle in Sasuke’s arms and paled,his upper body leaning in even as his legs took a step back.

“ _Is that-?”_ The boastfulness of earlier was gone, and his hand shook as he pointed to the bundle.

“It is, go get cleaned up”

Half an hour later,they were headed to a guesthouse on the edge of town where the mother was recovering,with Hibari holding his son close, talking to the boy, and pausing every now and then to wipe the tears that had fallen on the tiny cheeks.

The young woman,pale and sickly looking threw herself at Hibari when she saw him, and Sasuke had to throw up a privacy seal, when she began crying at the sight of the baby in her lover’s arms.Replacing the woman with an identical dark haired clone,they made their way out of the house,dodging the practically nonexistent security with ease.

The baby’s coffin was a hollowed out tree branch that Sasuke had lacquered himself,he let the couple hold the baby one last time,the mother singing him a lullaby before allowing Sasuke to place him in the coffin.Suigetsu for his part, held back at the proceedings, his gaze shifting from Sasuke, who was filling up the tiny grave to the crying couple, his brow crunched up as though he were fighting with himself.

“Would you like a gravestone or a plant?”Sasuke asked,they settled for the stone,looking at him with a gratitude Sasuke only ever got from clients and always made him uncomfortable.

They named him Mitsuki,and Sasuke burned the name into the stone,digging it into the earth and taking his leave,letting the couple have some privacy.Suigetsu followed close behind him, he was silent for once,not making any remarks, but he kept giving Sasuke looks he couldn’t decipher –so the Uchiha opted to just ignore them.

***

A month passed with Suigetsu shadowing Sasuke,going with him when he went to collect bodies from homes.When Sasuke went to get vengeance for those who’d been forced into early graves,Suigetsu gladly took  the role of executioner,  sometimes for the truly horrible ones,he was also  the  torturer.

One night,Sasuke awoke to Suigetsu staring down at him,which even for shinobi, was all kinds of freaky. Sasuke let his displeasure be known by sending him flying with a kick  to the jaw,that had the other teen’s head turning liquid for a second.

“ _What?”_ he growled,ignoring the pained yelps(he’d channeled some lighting into  his foot out of spite).

“You know my brother and I used to love playing in the rain”The topic of choice threw Sasuke, they never talked about their older siblings, _ever_ , that was one of the very few rules they stuck to, and here was Suigetsu,breaking it without care.

 “Now the rain is just for sustenance”He held out a hand and it turned a clear watery blue before it regained solid form again.

“I miss it,but I miss my brother even more”The one sided conversation had gone past the realm of awkward and Sasuke hastily looked around for something to swart Suigetsu with-maybe he was sleepwalking-nevermind the fact that the other nin looked perfectly awake and aware.

“He died you know”Were they talking about anything else,Sasuke would have raised a brow and scoffed, but the subject of brothers always made his eyes sting and burn red at the edges,so instead he just continued looking at Suigetsu.

“He _died_ ,and Orochimaru used him as bait to capture me”At this, Sasuke’s brow went up in question.

Suigetsu moved then,stepping aside to show a ,was that… _a block of ice_?...right behind him.

He turned slightly,running a hand over the block and Sasuke gripped his bed sheets when he realized he could feel sedentary chakra-the same he felt in the corpses he worked with daily,emanating from the block …

_…Oh._

Pushing his covers aside he stood next to Suigetsu,gazing down at what was essentially his the former kiri –nin’s brother.

“When you broke me out,I-I got a hold of his body, but I’ve never been able reverse whatever this is,the Hozuki,are water,free flowing,untamed-I can’t just let him be this way for eternity”Somewhere along the line Suigetsu had started crying,and with a gentle bite from Ren(why the viper was always so concerned about emotions was beyond Sasuke),the Uchiha,moved closer,placing a comforting hand on the crying man’s shoulder.

“Did Orochimaru do this?”he asked,his voice a bit scratchy from sleep.Suigetssu shook his head at that.

“Kabuto”Which made sense,Orochimaru was sadistic, but for the most part,he did things  that he  thought were worthwhile.He wouldn’t take time out  of his  busy day just  to torture  someone for the sake of  it…Kabuto  on  the other hand-

“May I?”Sasuke asked,his hand hovering above the ice,he received a nod, and gently lowered his hand,sending a pulse of chakra through the block and feeling it curve around what appeared to be spirit cores.

“I tried to reverse it,but nothing works-he just keeps being-solid”By now Ren was out of Sasuke’s sleeve,scenting the air with her tongue, she made her way to Sasuke’s neck curling around him like a scarf,her gentle hissing helping him think.

“If you give me some time I might be able to reverse this”Suigetsu’s affirmation was him bolting and leaping out the window and disappearing into the night,pointedly leaving Sasuke with his brother’s corpse-personally Sasuke wished he could run  too-the whole encounter had been really draining.


	2. Chapter 2

As it turned out, reversing ice into a human being was not a simple matter of reheating(that plan was scrapped because it was simply horrible on so  many levels).He tried running a current of electrity through the ice,but all that got him was burnt finger tips,the power reversing back to him.

Sometimes,Suigetsu came to watch,but he never stayed long,always leaving with his eyes shining, and gripping his blade tightly(Sasuke never asked when he came home smelling of cheap sake and blood-the criminal population-especially the human traffickers in the neighboring Kakou were going missing daily).

At one point,Sasuke tried running a consistent supply of chakra through the block and permanently mapping out where the body was ,so he could carve in out.That plan had been scrapped the moment he realized that Mangetsu’s chakra coils had been unused for so long,Sasuke  might accidentally cut off a limb due to not being able to properly sense the coils(for once it would have been helpful to have a Hyugga around).

Three more months passed with him hitting brick wall after wall, and through it all,Suigetsu stayed, patiently waiting(a quality Sasuke had thought he didn’t possess-but then again,when it came to the subject of siblings,both of them acted out of character).

One day while taking a break from the Mangetsu problem, a package arrived from him.He put down the drill he’d been using(seriously when people wanted a completely sealed coffin for their loved ones, did they want to see horrors,or did they really think exploding caskets were myths-Mako’d sent him two towns over to help clean up after such an incident,the vaguely human shaped blot amongst the foul smelling dark brown goo had haunted Sasuke for days).

Setting aside the drill, Sasuke found a letter from Mako, the old shrew was busy touring the continent’s  burial sites and enjoying every moment of it,she sent Sasuke frequent gifts,the last of which had been a large bottle of hundred year old wine.

Suigetsu had walked in on Sasuke and the snakes drinking it.

“This is the scariest tea party I’ve ever seen”He’d slammed the door just in time to avoid the venom Raya had spit at him-the  cobra complaining about having wasted his fluids before stating the need to replenish them with more wine.When the others had been satiated Sasuke had made his way to the funeral home.

In the catacombs,Aoda had slithered into sight and Sasuke had climbed onto the snake’s coils,offering up the last of the wine to the snake.With all the toxins in both Sasuke and the snakes, they couldn’t get drunk, but a good drink still soothed the soul in ways nothing else could,he’d fallen asleep in Aoda’s coils,the snake hissing softly as he enjoyed the smooth wine.

Now with a new gift from Mako,Sasuke could practically feel the excitement coming from the snakes.They coiled around the box,  heads raised as they watched Sasuke open it.He pulled out a second wooden box from within the cardboard, by now the snakes were letting out low excited hisses, Sasuke himself was kind of looking forward to the gift.

He popped the lid, his eyes widening in anticipation only to find himself looking at… _ice?_

Ice cubes to be exact.

Of all the things to send from half way across the continent,Mako had picked ice, something Sasuke could make in his own fridge without having to go anywhere.He noticed a note and put the ice aside to read it.

_Sasuke,_

_This ice is from the top of a sacred mountain.Those who drink it are said to be blessed with both immortality  and eternal beauty.I was going to drink it, but then I thought better of it(my few remaining teeth might not survive the cold,so you use it.Hopefully, it will whip that ugly mug of yours into shape._

_…you better be eating properly boy, don’t be taking care of the dead only,you need rest too,and tell that friend of yours to lay off the fish._

_Mako._

Attached was a picture of Mako at the base of said mountain.

Smiling softly,Sasuke placed the picture in the album he’d started,he knew the legend was probably a lie, but even so he took the ice cubes with him after work.

***

Two days  later after some extracurricular  grave  digging(Sasuke was very disappointed  in the number  of upstanding old men that turned  out to be pedophiles), Sasuke made  it home and  found the house empty.He made to get himself a drink and  his eyes fell on the  container with Mako’s ice,shrugging he picked it up,pouring himself a glass of warm water as he went.

He opened the  container  and tried  to add two cubes to the glass,only  to  let out a loud curse when the whole thing came out-nearly shattering the glass.

The cubes had fused together,with a heavy sigh he gulped the  warm water and went to put away the ice,but he paused half way through,an idea coming to life as he stared at the solid water.

With a flash of inspiration, he  put the  ice away and headed out, his earlier exhaustion forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke,didn’t so much wake up,as he was dragged into wakefulness with his entire body screaming in absolute agony.

For a long moment, he lay wherever he was,keeping his breathing even,despite his lungs wanting nothing more than to take in as much air as possible.Had he been _attacked_? _captured_?Why hadn’t the snakes warned him?Why hadn’t he sensed anything?

The faint sound of scales rubbing against each other,had him opening a single eye a small fraction,and when he was met with the familiar shade of purple he opened his eyes all the way.

“You’re awake- _good_ -don’t move just yet”Warm chakra coiled around  him,taking away his pain to the point that Sasuke was able to sit up,and lean against a giant coil.

More chakra flowed into him, and Sasuke felt his own chakra join it,trying to heal whatever was wrong with him-but his energy felt wrong.

It was cold and sluggish.Two things  it had never been before,calling it took effort, and it was only with the careful guidance of Aoda’s chakra that Sasuke was able to whip his life force into something that almost resembled normal-but  he was still _cold_ ,something Uchiha  chakra should never be.

“Aoda,what happened?”He rasped,and in answer the  snake lifted his head and gestured  to the underground river that ran through the caverns.

With great  effort Sasuke turned his head in that direction,at first he  didn’t see anything out of  the  ordinary,but then  he saw  it.The  block of  ice  was  floating on the water,but that wasn’t what caught his  attention,there was a hand sticking out  of  it,and the area where the wrist should be blended seamlessly with the ice.

***

Pushing all his discomfort aside Sasuke got to his feet.

It worked!

Touching the fingertips of the hand Sasuke,let some  of his chakra out,feeling around and was pleased to note that the  hand was still connected to the rest of the body.He wanted to head back to the surface and tell Suigetsu,but  he  quickly reigned himself in.

Mangetsu might have been Sasuke’s client, but he was Suigetsu’s brother, he deserved more respect than as just a puzzle Sasuke had solved. Taking a deep breath, the Uchiha centered himself, and stepped  onto the water, letting  himself sink  in up to his waist, he tuned out  Aoda’s hot breath on his back, turning all his  attention  to Mangetsu.

The principle he was using was really simple. Just like the  ice cubes Mako had gifted him had fused together,he was doing the same thing with the  frozen corpse.It wasn’t easy, Uchiha were fire, even when they were calm,they were burning.It went against everything in him to call the water in the river up, and instead of boiling it, draw the   heat from it and  mix it with  air to get ice, but that was exactly what he  did.

With his own ice formed (it wasn’t perfect,soft in some places,and too hard in others-but it was ice),Sasuke spread it around the cube, separated by a hair’s breadth and just let it sit.It should have been easy,but the strain on him was so great that sweat rolled down his  back, and he  felt as though his arms were about to fall off, but he  held firm… _waiting._

What felt like years later,his  patience paid  off,thin tendrils  of  ice from the block moved upwards,drawing his own  ice in.But even  then Sasuke did not  dare relax,just as he’d done  before passing out,he urged his chakra forward gently.Unlike if  he’d  been moulding the  chakra  into flames,he didn’t  try to take charge.Instead  he  moved into the air  bubbles in the ice.Seeping in slowly so that the ice wouldn’t crack  and  slowly but  surely with fluid movements,he etched lines around the body,making it’s separation from the  ice seem like it was the ice’s own idea.

Head,feet,torso and hair strand after strand,Sasuke worked,not really aware of  the passage of time.All his focus on making sure Mangetsu came out whole,it was only once the last toe  was completely out and Sasuke found himself staring at the curled  up form of Suigetsu’s older brother that  his exhaustion finally hit.

***

He fell backwards into the  water,the corpse floating beside him.There  was a worried hiss,and  water rippled  around  him before  Sasuke  felt coils going around him.

He only realized he was shivering uncontrollably when the same warm chakra from before began seeping  into him again, lessening the  ache in  his bones,and taking  away the  fog  covering  his eyes.

“ _Shh_ ,rest now,I’ll make sure nothing  happens  to him,”He fell asleep to the sound of gentle hissing.

***

Sasuke was already waiting when Suigetsu got home.He didn’t say anything as the other went to the fridge and pulled out some of his beloved yoghurt.And when the other gave a huge yawn and a lazy wave before heading to his room,Sasuke still didn’t say anything.He heard the door slam, a few moments later there was a dull thump before the door was wrenched open again.

“ _Y-You_?”Suigetsu stood in front of him,sword drawn and fighting back tears.He dropped the blade and drew Sasuke into a tight hug.Turning purely into water for a second and enclosing him.

When he let go,he spent a few more moments mumbling incoherently and pointing at Sasuke as tears ran down his face before he finally just rushed back to his room.

At first Sasuke had wanted to take the body to the morgue,but that had felt too impersonal somehow.So he’d carried Mangetsu home, and got him prepared with the spare equipment he kept in the house.Instead of a coffin,he’d used the giant seal skin Suigetsu had brought back from a fishing trip(he treasured it above all else(even his beloved swords),but somehow Sasuke didn’t think he minded sharing it with his older brother).

Still feeling the strain of freeing Mangetsu,Sasuke retired to bed early,and if at some point during the night,he awoke to the sound of ancient chants in between hiccupping sobs-he’d never tell anyone.

***

Suigetsu was not a morning person,so Sasuke was more than a little surprised when the other teen woke him up so early in the morning there were still stars out.

“We’re leaving in an hour,do you want to join us?”The shake in Suigetsu’s voice as he spoke made Sasuke drag himself from his warm inviting covers and drag himself to the bathroom.Kicking the snakes sleeping in the tub out as he got ready.

Different clans had different ways of burying their dead(though in Konoha,the standard quick burial had become more popular-shinobi died daily,fancy funerals just weren’t feasible).The Uchiha had believed in a good Katon to erase all ties to the mortal plane,the Hyugga buried their dead on the highest mountains,so that their eagle eyes watched over the earth,and once upon a time the Inuzuka did forest burials,leaving their dead to feed the wild-but the laws of Konoha forbade that now.

The point was,Sasuke was familiar with most of the burial rites in the land of fire.But this would be his first time seeing a Kiri burial.They carried Mangetsu onto Suigetsu’s fishing boat,and the other insisted on paddling out into the sea instead of using chakra.

“The waters feel the ripples of this boat,they know there are three of us now,and that one of us must be left behind.My labor is a small price to pay for my older brother  to be welcomed by the ocean,and allowed to drift freely in the currents”All Sasuke could do was nod at that,and even as the sun rose and burnt his delicate skin,the salty spray stinging his eyes he kept quiet,focusing on making sure Mangetsu stayed secure.

***

It was around midday when Suigetsu stopped.As far as Sasuke was concerned they were in a stretch of ocean that was no different from the others,but from the way Suigetsu was suddenly attentive-there had to be something there.

Getting up, the other began stripping,and once he was done he raised a questioning brow at Sasuke.In answer Sasuke  got out of his own clothes.He’d fully expected then to go out and just throw Mangetsu overboard,and he’d been prepared not to show how odd that was to him,but it seemed they wouldn’t be doing that.

Suigetsu gently grabbed Mangetsu,and with Sasuke’s help they lowered him into the water before jumping in after him.

Even for a ninja the dive was treacherous.Sasuke struggled to keep his air bubble intact and also keep a good grip on Mangetsu.Suigetsu for the most part seemed right at home,and it almost looked as though the water was parting to let him pass.The deeper they went,the darker it got,until Sasuke  had to activate the Sharingan to be  able to see.

Sasuke had no idea what it was,but the moment the time came to let go- _he just knew_.

Mangetsu’s body didn’t linger,it just sank down in what had to be the most graceful movement Sasuke had ever seen from a corpse(and thanks to rigor mortis-he’d seen some of the most awkard poses).Instead of sinking all the way to the bottom like Sasuke had expected,Mangetsu began disappearing half way there.turning liquid clear from the  center and radiating outwards until his entire body  was  gone.

After all the  effort they’d put in Sasuke had expected something more dramatic,but he supposed the whole thing looked  rather peaceful,so leaving it at that he began swimming to the surface.Only to be swept up in Suigetsu’s liquid form and propelled to the surface at a break neck speed.

When he landed back on the boat,Sasuke tried his best to look disapproving while trying to gulp down air,but Suigetsu didn’s seem to care,too focused on the water,not caring that he was still naked.

“You didn’t have to do that”Sasuke snarled as he got dressed.

“I would have made it just fine-and whatever happened to doing things without chakra to pay for your brother’s safety”In answer Suigetsu gave him a toothy grin as he pulled up the anchor.

“That was for making sure he got accepted”

“Now that the ocean’s welcomed him, I wanted to be able to see his first wave,so we had to hurry”

“Still I don’t appreciate being- _wait_ -what do you mean first wave?”Giving another one of  his irritating grins,Suigetsu pointed at the waters and for the first time Sasuke noticed they were churning,it was slow at first,but they got stronger and began tossing the boat around,forcing Sasuke to anchor himself with chakra while Suigetsu laughed like he was having the time of his life.

Above the sky was clear blue, a startling contrast to the stormy seas below.Whatever was going on was definitely abnormal.

Suigetsu shouted something that was lost in the wind,and Sasuke could only stand and watch as a monstrous wave rose from the ocean.

It grew,and grew, _and grew_ , until it blocked out the sun, and for an instant, Sasuke could have sworn he saw the shape of a man flitting amongst the dark blue waters.It was gone as quickly as it came,and a second later he had other things to worry about as the wave dragged the little boat to it,and began descending towards it .

***

Sasuke dropped to the floor, plastering himself to the boat with his chakra,shielding his eyes from the spray,he spotted Suigetsu.The other was still unanchored,lauging freely as the waters pelted him.He tilted his head to the side as though listening to something,and after turning to send a devil-may-care  grin at Sasuke- _he jumped_.

The foamy tips of the wave swallowed Suigetsu,and all traces of his chakra vanished,leaving Sasuke in a blind panic,but he didn’t have time to nurse it because a moment after Suigetsu disappeared-the wave hit.

***

The water was ice cold,it burned in a way fire never could,it was the type of burn that killed cells and left the limb intact only for it to fall off.Feeling out his cores,Sasuke tried to send out some heat but none came,instead,the icy chill he’d gotten from freeing Mangetsu was back.It spread through him,painfully at first,but by the time it finished he was blissfully numb.

Once all feeling had left him, the water was no longer so scary.The gentle push and pull lulled Sasuke into a sense of safety,and if he listened hard enough he  could almost hear the sounds of children laughing.

Two of them in fact.One  of the laughs sounded  like a softer version  of Suigetsu’s laugh- _how_ _strange_.Untethered from the  worries of  the world,Sasuke  let the  laughter wash over him,simply enjoying the  moment.

He didn’t even care  when he  saw Suigetsu materialize in  the water beside him,but  he  _did_   care when he  noticed  yet another wave  coming towards them.When it  struck,all the numbness Sasuke had been cocooned  in faded,and he felt every inch of the force  bearing down on him.

 _Bloody Hozuki_ ,and their death courting funerals(you were supposed to bury people and be  done with it-not fight for your own life,to give loved ones  a good burial).When the wave let up,he noticed  it hadn’t separated him and Suigetsu much and the  other was smiling-smiling like he was  out  enjoying  a good walk instead  of  being pelted by masses of  water.

Sasuke  had just enough time  to bend  the  resisting  fingers  of one hand  ,and make  a rude gesture to the other ninja before the  next wave hit…after that,he  wasn’t really aware of anything else.

***

The first thing Sasuke did when he woke up,was turn over and spit out foul tasting water and sand.

In the distance he could just make out seagulls fighting over scraps,rolling onto his back he finally noticed the other person beside him.Suigetsu,still as naked as the day he was born was snoring soundly.Sasuke tried to dredge up the energy to kick him awake,but everything hurt too much to move,so instead he settled for wishing a crab would come out of nowhere and bite his balls.

A  few minutes passed,with no sign of any crab passing by,giving up on divine justice,Sasuke forced his aching body to move as he rolled towards Suigetsu and shook him awake.A few minutes  later,Sasuke had gotten as much sand out of his hair as possible,and a simple henge made it look like Suigetsu was dressed.

The walk home was quiet,the mirth Suigetsu’d had in the waters was gone and he seemed lost in his memories.Sasuke for his part was just focusing on staying upright.When they got home it was almost sunset,and Sasuke was beyond tired, all he wanted to do was shower and sleep,but halfway to the bathroom he paused.

“Suigetsu”He called softly.

“When you die,I’m chucking you in the nearest sewer”A raucous laugh  followed  him down the hall.

***

Sasuke  had  expected to  pass out  immediately,but  sleep  did  not  come easy.He stared at his  wall,watching the shadows  lengthen until he rolled over and stared out the window just to get a change of scenery.

Sasuke stared at the shadows for  the  longest time.He wasn’t  sure exactly  when he fell  asleep,but he realized he was dreaming  when one  of the shadows flowed  from the  walls  and  took the shape  of  a crow.

It was the same one that had led him back to Matsugo,but this time it did not  fly out of reach.It  stared at him for  the  longest  time,and when it  ruffled its  feathers starlight  fell from the inky  darkness.Instead of falling to the ground the  little stars floated  up,clinging to the walls and taking the form  of a big tree.

One of the  brighter sparks fell  off,but once again it  did  not  touch the  ground.It  moved unsteadily across the  air,seemingly without direction  at first,but  it gathered itself and  haltingly made its way towards Sasuke.

Gripped by an emotion  he could not name,Sasuke  held out  his  hand,allowing  the  light to  settle there.

The instant it  touched the tip of his  fingers,the  blue  spark glowed brighter-growing  little tendrils as it clutched his hand tightly.

A foreign emotion  from long ago gripped  Sasuke, with it came a memory of the smell of smoke, spices, and ozone.Of warm laughter and firm but gentle hands.

_“Mother?”_

 A single tear rolled  down  Sasuke’s cheek and fell on his  hand,and it was only  when looking at the  single  tear  drop that Sasuke realized  two  things.

One being that  he’d accidentally activated his  sharingan,and  the  second being  that  he wasn’t dreaming-just as his  eyes could separate  illusion  from reality,they could also tell the difference  between a  dream and something real.

In the dream world,everything was shades of red and black,in reality,all things were crystal clear-there wasn’t a hint of red on droplet,so that  meant  only one thing.

He turned his  attention to the spark in his hand, but  it  had already let go and  was floating up.Sasuke made to grab it,but  a  beak snapping close  to his thumb had him retracting  his hand.

The crow stood between him and the spark.It perched at  Sasuke’s feet,and pinned him with its beady eyes.It shifted on its legs,and for the first time Sasuke realized something.

It had three legs.

The two on the sides were a normal colour,the one in the middle was pitch black and easy to miss,but it was unmistakably a leg.

 _What in the name of the blazing inf_ -

Sasuke didn’t get a chance to finish the thought,because in the next moment the crow took flight,aiming for his face.He brought his hand up on instinct ,and when he lowered it- _the crow_ _was gone_ -not only that the star tree was gone  a well-and it was _daylight_.

He looked around his room in confusion.He hadn’t fallen asleep,he was sure of that,and he  most certainly hadn’t been in a genjutsu-so how had time passed without him feeling it?Falling  back and staring up at the ceiling,Sasuke tried  to   puzzle it out,but his body had had enough,and his eyes closed on their own as he tried to recall everything about the light that had settled on his hand.

He was asleep before his tears started falling onto his pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

A month after Mangetsu was laid to rest,Sasuke was awakened by Suigetsu’s pained screams.he was out of the bed,kunai in hand and rushing to the door before he even processed that the snakes didn’t seem too bothered by the intruders.He got his answer when he reached the living room.

Suigetsu had reverted to water form,and was currently trying to flow across the carpet to escape his fate.Above him Karin,red hair wild and matching her fiery temper,was swinging a club(a barbed one at that),rather wildly.

“We snuck in to surprise you,but we ran into him first ”Juugo ever calm(for the most part) said as he came to stand beside Sasuke, he was carrying two heavy bags like it was nothing.

“ _This_ is quite the surprise”Sasuke said,voice flat as he gestured at the  beat down on the mat.

“The first thing he said to Karin was that her make-up  made her look like she’d been dead, and buried for two weeks”

Nodding in understanding,Sasuke took the bags from Juugo and placed them by the door.

They made their way around the fighting duo(Suigetsu, even though obviously defeated was still hurling insults).

Juugo,unlike Suigetsu,did not bring out the urge to murder in Sasuke,he brought a sense of peace .And Sasuke latched onto it as he moved around the kitchen,the two of them enjoying the quiet(almost quiet) as Sasuke got started on breakfast-it was one of the few mornings where he hadn’t been awakened by the sound of phantom wings and he was going to enjoy it.

***

The moment Sasuke put down the last plate,Karin burst through the door and threw herself at him.Her hug bordered on too tight and lasted too long for comfort,but Sasuke found himself hugging her right back.

Before the chuunin exams,before Itachi  returned and before going rogue.Sasuke had  thought Naruto was his best friend(though he was loathe to admit it at the time).But being in Matsugo,Sasuke had come to doubt that.The dobe had said that over and over again,going from them being friends to being rivals in the same breath,but since then Sasuke had grown(not just in the physical sense), and he saw the cracks in their relationship.

What he and Naruto had _was toxic_.

Naruto saw Sasuke as a prize,something to be conquered and dragged back into his glass case where it fit with all the other trophies(afterall everyone in Naruto’s sight had to agree with his beliefs otherwise you were wrong-and he couldn’t let that stand- _a_ _chilling thought,but no less true_ ).And Sasuke for his part,had at first seen Naruto as useless,and then as someone who was having power that Sasuke had been slaving to reach for years, handed to him on a silver platter.

Looking at it from a distance,Sasuke could see the manipulations needed to get them to such a point.

The village had let Sasuke rot away in a living graveyard,they’d had Naruto ignored and tortured on a daily basis.Both of  them were put in the same team not because of their compatibility. It was to make sure they kept each other in check.If Naruto stepped out of line,Sasuke was to kill him,and vice-versa.If both of them died during the confrontation,the village would have two problems off their hands.If  Naruto won,the village would still benefit.If Sasuke won, they’d make sure he was hunted down like a dog.

_For Konoha  there was no bad outcome._

Taking all that into account,he’d realized that the very first true friend he’d ever had was actually Karin.They did not seek to tame each other,make each other see the world the same way.They respected each other’s differences and did not push on each other’s sore spots.They had the sort of acceptance for each other-flaws and all,that Sasuke had only seen glimpses of in the broken bonds that Konoha fostered under the guise of teamwork.

“Missed you”He whispered making sure only she could hear,in response he felt two teardrops land on his shoulder.

Karin pulled back ,breaking the moment just as a Suigetsu wobbled in,pointedly taking a seat that put Juugo’s bulk between him and Karin.Breakfast was a quiet affair,and it was only once the plates were cleared that they started talking.

***

“ _So_ …Sasuke”Karin began,a too big grin on her face-he’d come to really dislike that particular grin.

“What have you been up to since you faked your death?”Giving her a flat look,Sasuke tilted his head to the side and she let out a genuine laugh.

“Alright,you’ve got me,so how’s working with the dead,I hear they can be stiff customers”The distasteful quip only got a laugh from Suigetsu and Karin threw a spoon at him in retaliation.

“What?you mean you couldn’t tell how it’s going in the week you two’ve been camped outside the village,spying on us?”Karin let out a groan at that,and glared at Juugo,pointing an accusatory finger at him.

“See!I told you we should have just waltzed in”

“Karin,I’m the one who suggested that”Juugo said,calmly petting the little sparrow that had flown in through the window.

“Never mind then,Sasuke,you let us sleep on the ground knowing full well we were out there failing to spy on you”Sasuke gave her another flat look and she sighed.

“Fine,we came out here because we need a place to lay low”It was Sasuke’s turn to sigh.

“Does my home have a sign over it saying I hide criminals for free.I’m a law abiding civilian now”Three pairs of disbelieving eyes stared at him,and Sasuke very deliberately did not think of the black widow he’d killed a week prior(the woman had already been worth a fortune,she was just plain greedy).

When the silent moment passed,all three of them burst into uncontrollable laughter,not stopping until Suigetsu fell off the table and knocked over the large bowl Ren was sleeping in,the large viper hissing menacingly before slithering towards Sasuke and going around his neck to glare at them properly.

Juugo and Karin seemed a bit taken aback by the move,but they kept their questions to themselves.

“Anyway,Mr _law abiding civilian_ ,we didn’t do anything illegal- _recently_ ”Karin added the last part at _his_ disbelieving look.

“The shinobi world has declared a fourth war”

“It’s not safe out there-especially for the likes of us”

Sasuke fought back a shudder at her words.A lot of villages used wars as a cover to gain bloodline limits,either through theft,murder, grave-robbing or experimentation-it was never a fun time for those from gifted clans(given how difficult normal peaceful days were,the travesties of war were something to be wary of).

“This isn’t a hotel,you guys better clean up after yourselves”By that point,no one was listening,Karin’s feet were on the table,Suigetsu somehow had a tub of yoghurt and Juugo’s little bird friend had taken up residence in his hair.With a glare at an uninterested audience,Sasuke headed for the bathroom,pausing only to let Ren slide off as he got ready for the day.

***

_A war._

Looking around him,Sasuke realized that he should have noticed sooner(having been busy with birds that may or may not have been real wasn’t an excuse).More and more shinobi bodies were turning up,and it was often Sasuke’s job to send them off.In that month alone he’d sent of close to a hundred warriors, a year before a month had often yielded less than half that number.

It had gotten so bad,Sasuke’d had to expand the room.Storing the civilians in the regular room,and having a the ninja go into a large open room that he’d made seals for(the ice jutsu had come more easily than Sasuke could ever recall).After dealing with the civilians,he often went to the back room,and picked out a row of corpses to work on.Using the things they had on them,to identify them as well as reconstructing the faces of those who’s features had been destroyed,Sasuke tried to give all of them decent burials,no matter their affiliation.

His  first client for that day was a hundred year  old man,he’d gone peacefully in  his  sleep(something Sasuke had  found to  be  surprisingly rare).It was a bit difficult  getting  the man’s mouth closed,given  the state  of  his  gums,but Sasuke  managed in the  end,smiling  softly at the finished product.Next  was a young  woman-a suicide-most of the work  went into putting her  intestines  back into her body and  making  sure  her stomach  didn’t look disintended(her parents didn’t want anyone to know).

“She  shamed us enough when she was alive, we won’t  let her stupidity ruin our reputation”Sasuke had learnt that she’d been in  a forced  arranged marriage,and she’d voiced her objections-the ultimate sin-according to her mother.Her cause of death was self inflicted, nothing for  Sasuke to worry about,but he’d still made eye contact with her,and seen the  reason for her choice.

After everyone was gone,Sasuke would be sure to let her lover pay her respects.The unfortunate young woman  had  been in love with her maid,and they’d been found out(the maid had been fired on the spot).The other girl’s picture had  been the last thing she ever  saw.With his two civilians of the day done,Sasuke went about preparing the ninja.

He went through a trio so badly burnt(encased in larva by the looks of it),they’d melded together.There was nothing much he could do for them,so he simply buried all three in the same grave(unwilling to cause more damage to the corpses by trying to separate them).Next came a kunoichi,her head had been sliced right off(a clean cut-at least she hadn’t had to suffer being hacked at repeatedly), Sasuke used a steel rod to bring the pieces of her body together before taking her to her grave.She’d worn an Iwa headband so Sasuke made sure to unfurl her stiff fingers and place a smooth pebble in her hand-something to ground her as her spirit moved on.

Having finished with the Iwa-nin,Sasuke took a break,idly petting the python that had come to settle around his shoulders  as he worked-simaltenously keeping himself warm, and making sure Sasuke’s shoulders and back weren’t too stiff later on.

“Any pressing cases?”The python bumped his head lightly, Sasuke’s torso,where the majority of the snake’s body was squeezed briefly,before Aiko began speaking.

“Aoda came across a man in the river last night,”Sasuke turned a questioning eye on the snake-he always did inventory in the mornings-checking new arrivals,either the one’s he’d brought in himself(some of whom he’d actively volunteered on account of them being vile creature),those who’d been delivered by the hospitals(ill equipped as they were) or loved ones,or the ones who’d been found by the snakes.He was certain that there hadn’t been a new client when he arrived.

“Why isn’t he here?”Instead of answering Aiko lifted his head,scenting the air before settling down again.

“Aoda tried to move him,but he was too- _leaky_ -we were worried,that the body would be destroyed if we moved it too much”Aiko looked so proud at being able to remember, that Sasuke didn’t even bring up how he should have said something when Sasuke had arrived-Aoda was probably still out there.But being able to recall most of the details was a huge step for Aiko(an encounter with a boulder had nearly robbed the python of everything-at least this showed he was healing,it was slow-but at least he was getting there).

Heading for the mini fridge,Sasuke pulled out a few frozen mice, letting the python enjoy them.He gently thumbed the scar running across the snake’s head.With a few more sheds it would be completely gone,and by the looks of it the head injury would be healed as well.

“Is he still in the river or did he make it to the carvens?”

“Carvens”The answer was muffled,but it was all Sasuke needed,he left Aiko to enjoy his meal.

***

“I see Aiko finally got around to telling you”Like Sasuke,Aoda didn’t seem upset at the delay,though he obviously wasn’t enjoying the stench anymore than Sasuke.

“You could have sent someone else to tell me,”The Uchiha reprimanded softly.

“Aiko wanted to do it-who was I to stop him- a snake has their pride,it would have broken him if I’d sent a babysitter after him”The level of patience Sasuke’s snakes had for each other(and for him) never ceased to amaze him.

“Where’s the client?”Aoda flicked his tongue to the left,and Sasuke finally caught sight of the vaguely humanoid form concealed by the shadows.

Just as Aiko had said,he was _very leaky,_ but surprisingly he was still mostly intact(if you didn’t count the missing arm-probably eaten by something),the corpse even still had hair(dirty and discoloured but still hair)- usually after a few days,water currents could easily strip away hair(or just take off the scalp),but this particular corpse hadn’t suffered that fate.

Moving the man took effort,but Sasuke finally managed-the many uses he’d come to find for ice manipulation once again coming in handy.

***

After cutting off the clothes(his surgical mask-reinforced with a containment jutsu making sure his nose wasn’t assaulted),Sasuke moved to take off his scrolls-there were a lot of them-probably a messenger nin then.The last material to go was the man’s headband.Wiping grime off the metal revealed a familiar symbol and Sasuke actually had to stop for a bit.

A leaf-nin.

Konoha shinobi weren’t exactly rare in those parts,but it was strange to get one,instead of a team.Since when did Konoha send out lone shinobi-or perhaps this one had been undercover?Sasuke cast out the theory as quickly as he’d come up with it-the man wouldn’t have been wearing his headband then.

Putting aside the man’s belongings,Sasuke went back to work,stiffening the hair with some lightning and letting water roll off it,taking the insects,rotting chunks and dirt with it.Pretty soon the deceased,snow white hair was visible.

Cleaning the rest of the body took time, and as he worked Sasuke caught sight of the darker patches of skin-bruises-whoever this guy was,he’d taken a beating before succumbing.There probably would have been more if the ninja had lived.Finally reaching the face,Sasuke worked methodically,being careful with the extra sensitive skin,watching as somewhat humanoid features came into view.The man wasn’t really recognizable anymore,maybe to someone who’d known him in life he would have been.But all Sasuke saw was  deep coloured lines on both of the man’s face(clearly clan tattoos) and whi-

…Clan markings-a shock of white hair- a Konoha headband.

_Jiraiya!_

Sasuke had a Saanin on his table…


End file.
